The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-06-08
NUMBER 76.
UNDER WATER.
Divers Sometimes Sleep ON the Rivers

Then the tales one hears about such
matters are little off 2
They're simply lies. There's more
lying about diving than about any other
occupation.
Give me straight story"
well, TO begin with. I'll dispose of
that yarn about corpses being found sit
ting In chairs in the staterooms of sunk
en- steamers. I've been i'm sunken steam
erS that were full of corpses. There was,
for instance, the Hamburg steamer Cim-
bria, which went down i'm the North Sea
some five years ago, with five hundred
emigrants. | and two other divers from
here. who We're sent for 10 help i'm get
ting ont the ago literally worked
among hundreds of corpses. The cell
ings were lined with them"
The ceilings
Yes, sir. A diver working vessel
for corpses feels for them along the cell
ings il the wreck is older than "A couple
of days. Ii he goes into her only day
or two after she goes down. he feels
along both the floors and ceilings. That's
where the corpses are; not in chairs"
why did they send away over here
FOR divers to go down into the Cimbriay'
Because New York divers are ON the
top of the heap. The reason is that
most OF their work is done in the dark:
for it's pitch dark under the water
around New York. l suppose it's ON ac-
count of the sewage. A diver from other
writers can't work in those around New
York. But New York diver can work
in the clear waters elsewhere twice as
fast as the local divers because his sense
of touch-sense of touch under water-is
SO finely developed. We New York
divers can tell various metals, il they are
under water, apart 10y sense of touch;
but if they are not under water we can
col No. .lat -. Al.
Tor instance, are piece of copper and "A
piece of brass. Put them ON the table
and blindfold me and l can't tell which
Is which. Chuck 'em i'm the basin and
pour water over them, and can tell the
moment touch the pieces which is cop
per and which is brass. You see, we
New York divers have To ply all kinds
of trades in the dark"
Then you have Ia be pretty handyY'
"Yes, sir. If a green hand came TO
me and wanted to learn the profession of
diving, the first thing I'd advise him
would he To go to sea till he'd learn the
ins and outs of all kinds of vessels and
how 10 handle and store cargo. Then
he is pretty competent 10 work wrecks.
Next I'D tell him TO learn all kinds OF
trades. For we don't consider working
wrecks "A very fine line of the profession.
The real fine work is when diver has
To ply some trade, such as carpentering
or pipe laying, under water. For in
stance, a very fine Job was the laying of
the line of pipe for the health department
from Port Morris 10 North Brother Is
land. The diver had to keep the line
straight, unpack the pipe, put il together
and in fact, do i'm the dark the work of "a
skillful pipe layer
''Do you dive much for treasurer
There's not much of that going on
now. The biggest job of that kind was
the Hussar The work on that wreck
had 10 be done many feet under the bed
of the river"
Right where she went DOWN.
Right where she went down, over "A
hundred years ago. wreck remains
just on the same spot where first she
reaches bottom. As years roll ON she
works down, down into the bed of the
river And so, where the Hussar sank
so long ago, lies her hulk. The diver
got out the stern-post, but didn't find
any treasure. l don't believe that any
treasure will be found on the site of the
wreck. / have heard that official docu-
ments in England show that, after the
Hussar struck, the treasure was loaded
into her barge, which upset from the
shifting of some boxes of the
coin opposite red house ON Ran
dall's Island. Some people have n crazy
notion that Capt. Kidds vessel with
VAST zeal Oh went uOMn OH
Peekskill, and not long along'a syndi-
cate employed diver for two summers.
He didn't lird trace of wreck. Some
divers, who haven't been long enough in
the profession To be constantly employed
and have "A good deal of time on their
hands, work old wrecks. For instance:
The Commodore, off Stonington; the
Isaac Newton, off Fort Lee, and the
Thomas Morgan. off Yonkers; but there
iaF'f fair ~ In assnh fal.a
Sometimes, however, we hear of old
wrecks that haven't been worked yet,
and they are worth looking after. Two
years ago one of us who was building
the foundation for a pier of the bridge
at Saybrook heard that a schooner loaded
with coal and copper had gone down
there some 35 years ago. He placed the
wreck and got out the cargo, which was
still i'm prime condition. But there are
as many lies about old wrecks as there
are about corpses. Whenever "A sailor III
thirsty, but hasn't any money, he con
cocts a lie about "A wreck and comes 10
us with IL. He almost always goes away
as thirsty as he came"
"What does divers outfit consist Of n
"a boat. pump, hose, lines and dress.
The coat consists of layers OF duck and
rubber. The shoes weigh twenty pounds
each. On his chest and back he carries
forty pound weights. The helmet, when
il has been placed over the divers head,
is firmly screwed into a copper collar
that IL attached 10 his dress. A weighted
line Is sunk to the spot he is 10 reach and
down that line lac goes with the lifeline
around his waist and the hose. through
which the air Is pumped, attached 10 his
helmet. Those who handle the lifeline
and hose must regulate these as he
moves about below"
"What are divers working day and
his wagesY
-Four hours and $6. II he furnishes
his own apparatus his wages are higher
$50 TO $50 day. For getting "A haw-
ser out of steamers screw Id charge
$50 IL furnished my own apparatus"
81 suppose part of the charge IL for
the risks you rum
YES, "A diver is exposed 10 good
many dangers One Of them, you will
be surprised to learn, is falling asleep.
On hot day the contrast between the
heat above and the delicious coolness be-
low water Is apt To make a diver sleepy.
/ once slept an hour and half nj the
bottom Of "A wreck near Kingston, where
i was laying pipe. suppose that had
happened in the channel near Govern
or's Island, where the tide runs so swift
that diver can work only during
the one hour Of slack water.
If I'd slept over that one hour
the deadly rush of tide would have
snapped the Lifetime and hose. Then In
working wrecks there is the danger pf
getting Jamined in between the freight
or of getting the hose or line tangled.
When the hose snaps the frightful pres
sure Kills the diver. He Is sickeningly
distorted by it,"
York;
Look lie held out a shield-shaped